This application is based on application No. 10-305965 filed in Japan, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to graphical user interface (GUI) and more specifically to a technique that facilitates selection of a GUI component such as a button contained in a GUT screen.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
As a growing number of electronic communication appliances and household electrical appliances use screens that contain GUI components as their user interface, the need is increasing for a technique to efficiently and easily design a GUI screen capable of dynamic change such as changes in response to user operation.
GUI screens shown on a display or similar include GUI components that are visual images such as text or a picture, more specifically, a button, a list box, or a check box, given a certain form and a certain property. GUI components present certain information to the user and can be selected by the user. Note that a menu option selectable by a user is also regarded as a GUI component.
A focus displayed on a GUI screen allows the user to point at a given GUI component on the GUI screen using input units such as a keyboard or a remote controller of a TV. This focus is a visual indication showing an area on a GUI screen to which the user is currently referring and is represented, for instance, by a dotted box enclosing the GUI component currently being referred to. Hereafter, when the user has a focus indicate a GUI component to which he is currently referring, the GUI component is said to be xe2x80x9cfocused on.xe2x80x9d Such a focus is necessary when the user uses an input unit such as a remote controller or a keyboard that, unlike a pointing device such as a mouse, cannot directly point at a given area on the GUI screen.
A GUI screen control system controls the focus so that the focus moves from one area to another on the GUI screen in response to operations of a button or a key indicating a direction such as up, down, right, or left on a remote controller or a keyboard. When the user presses a button or a key indicating confirmation, the GUI screen control system recognizes a GUI component that is focused on at that point as having been selected by the user and controls the processing according to the properties of the selected GUI component.
Accordingly, to select a GUI component on a GUI screen, the user looks at the GUI screen and repeatedly presses, for instance, direction buttons on the remote controller to move the focus onto the desired GUI component before pressing the confirmation button. In more detail, if the user wants to select the third GUI component to the right of a GUI component currently being focused on, he presses a button on the remote controller indicating a right direction three times and then the confirmation button once to confirm the selection. In this way, although the GUI screen control system enables an input unit such as a remote controller to select a GUI component using a focus, this selection involves more user operations than when the same selection is made with a pointing device that directly points at the same GUI component. The following explains, problems relating to a conventional GUI screen control system.
Some GUI components cannot be selected part or all of the time. However, a conventional GUI screen control system allows GUI components that cannot be selected to be focused on. As a result, the user not only has difficulty in recognizing which GUI components are currently selectable, but also has to repeat a needless operation to move a focus until the focus reaches a selectable GUI: component.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 4-817835 discloses a technique that enables the user to recognize GUI components that are options representing functions that are currently available. This is achieved by displaying available GUI components in an animated form and GUT components representing functions that are unavailable in a static form before the user starts selection With this technique, the user can easily recognize currently-selectable GUI components and so select a desired GUI component by moving a focus onto the GUI component via the shortest distance from a GUI component currently being focused on without moving the focus by trial and error.
However, with this conventional technique, several user operations still need to be performed until the focus reaches the desired GUI component via the shortest distance. For instance, even when the user recognizes that the first and second GUI components to the right of a GUI component, currently being focused on are not selectable and wishes to select the third GUI component to the right, the user needs to press a button indicating a right direction three times to move the focus onto the third GUI component.
Accordingly, a technique to enable the user to easily select a desired GUI component using a focus is necessary, especially in a field of household appliances such as ordinary digital TVs that receive user operations using only a remote controller, not a pointing device.
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a focus control device that moves a focus not onto all the GUI components on a GUI screen but only onto predetermined GUI components to reduce the number of user operations required to move the focus to a desired GUI component using an input unit such as a remote controller.
In order to achieve the above object, the focus control device of the present invention positions a focus on one of a plurality of GUI components displayed on a screen, the focus control device including: a request receiving unit for receiving a request to move the focus; a focus permission information storing unit for storing focus permission information indicating, for each GUI component, whether the focus can be positioned on the GUI component; and a focus moving unit for moving the focus in response to the received request to a GUI component where, according to the focus permission information, the focus can be positioned, the focus moving unit skipping over GUI components where the focus cannot be positioned.
With the stated construction, the focus control device positions the focus only on a GUI component where the focus can be positioned after skipping over GUI components where the focus cannot be positioned. By having the focus permission information indicate that the focus can be positioned on GUI components that are selectable by the user and that the focus cannot be positioned on GUI components that are not selectable, for instance, it becomes possible to reduce a required number of user operations to move the focus to a desired GUI component even when the user uses an input unit such as a remote controller and a keyboard that, unlike a pointing device, cannot directly point at a given GUI component. For example, when the user wants to position the focus on a GUI component two above a GUI component currently focused on and a GUI component immediately above the current GUI component is not selectable, the user can select the desired GUI component by pressing a button indicating the up direction only once to move the focus and a confirmation button to confirm the selection on a remote controller.
Here, each GUI component may be classified into one of a plurality of types, and the focus permission information may indicate whether the focus can be positioned on each GUI component according to the type of the GUI component.
With the stated construction, whether to permit the focus to position on each GUI component can be determined according to the type of the GUI component. By classifying each GUI component into one of a plurality of types according to, for example, its appearance, the user can easily recognize GUI components on which the focus can be positioned by their appearances.
Here, the plurality of types may be determined according to a function and appearance of each GUI component.
With the stated construction, it is possible to classify GUI components according to their appearances and functions into a plurality of GUI component types such as a button, label, and a list box. As a result, the user can recognize GUI components on which the focus can be positioned by their appearances according to GUI component types.
Here, the focus control device may further include a focus permission information changing unit for changing the focus permission information, and the focus moving unit may move the focus according to focus permission information in the focus permission information storing unit when the request receiving unit received the request.
According to the stated construction, focus permission information for certain GUI component types can be changed according to the circumstances. As a result, a GUI that is capable of dynamic change can be achieved.
Here, the focus control device may further include a focus destination display unit for specifying a GUI component to which the focus would move if the request receiving unit received the request and displaying a mark indicating the specified GUI component.
With the stated construction, the focus control device displays a mark indicating a GUI component that would be focused on next if the user moved the focus via a button on a remote controller or the like. Accordingly, the user can easily recognize which GUI component would be focused on.
Here, the focus control device may further include a component position information storing unit for storing position information indicating a display position of each GUI component on the screen, and the request received by the receiving unit may contain information indicating a direction in which the focus should move. The focus moving unit may move the focus by referring to the position information and the indicated direction to specify, out of GUI components on which the focus can be positioned, one GUI component to which the focus should move from a GUI component on which the focus is currently positioned, and by positioning the focus on the specified GUI component.
For the above construction, when the user designates a direction via a button on a remote controller or the like, the focus control device specifies a GUI component that should be focused on out of GUI components where the focus can be positioned, based on the designated direction. By having the focus permission information indicate that the focus can be positioned on GUI components that are selectable by the user, for instance, the user can position the focus on a given selectable GUI component by performing a reduced number of operations.
Here, the focus control device may further include a component position information changing unit for changing the position information, wherein the focus moving unit may move the focus referring to position information in the component position information storing unit when the request receiving unit received the request.
The stated focus control device determines a GUI component that should be focused on according to the position information that is present when receiving a request to move the focus from the user. As a result, even when positions of GUI components have changed, the focus control device will still position the focus only on GUI components where the focus can be positioned. Accordingly, control programs to move a focus in different GUI screens do not need to be provided in the present focus control device, and so the load of designing GUI screens can be reduced.
Here, the focus control device may further include a focus permission information changing unit for changing the focus permission information, wherein the focus moving unit may move the focus referring to focus permission information in the focus permission information storing unit when the request receiving unit received the request.
With the present focus control system, it is possible to change the focus permission information according to circumstances to have the focus permission information indicate that the focus cannot be positioned on certain GUI components. As a result, a GUI that is capable of dynamic change can be achieved.
The above object can be also achieved by a focus control device that is included in a digital broadcast receiving system and that moves a focus to one of a plurality of GUI components that compose a screen, the digital broadcast receiving system receiving a content that is digitally broadcast and displaying, based on information contained in the content, the screen for receiving a user operation, wherein the information in the received content contains focus permission information indicating, for each GUI component, whether the focus can be positioned on the GUI component, and position information indicating a display position of each GUI component on the screen, wherein the focus control device includes: a request receiving unit for receiving, from the user via a remote controller, a request that contains direction information indicating a direction in which the focus should move; a focus permission information obtaining unit for obtaining and storing the focus permission information; and a focus moving unit for referring to the position information and the indicated direction to specify, out of GUI components on which the focus can be positioned, one GUI component to which the focus should move from a GUI component on which the focus is currently positioned, and for moving the focus to the specified GUI component.
With the stated construction, the digital broadcast receiving device is capable of positioning the focus only on predetermined GUI components even when a received content does not contain control information that directly specifies the GUI components to which the focus should move in response to different user operations. Accordingly, by having the focus permission information indicate, for instance, that the focus can be positioned on selectable GUI components, the user can move the focus to a desired selectable GUI component with a reduced number of presses of a button on a remote controller